NAME _________________________ NOTE TO THIS YEAR?S (2010) STUDENTS: QUESTIONS ON SUBJECTS WE HAVEN?T TAKEN NOW ARE MARKED *. EVEN FOR TOPICS WE?VE DISCUSSED, I OFTEN EMPHASIZED DIFFERENT THINGS THIS YEAR I?LL PROBABLY HAVE FEWER BRIEF SENTENCE ANSWERS, AND MORE ONE WORD AND MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS. PS125, Fall 2009, Midterm ? odd version 1. In a brief sentence, state why the negotiators of the ABM Treaty hoped it would promote arms race stability. (They also hoped it would promote crisis stability, but this question isn?t about that.) 2. Which one of the following is currently banned by a treaty, Mark T in front of it if it IS banned, and F in front of the rest. _____ stationing a missile with nuclear weapon on the bottom of Utah?s Great Salt Lake _____ deploying ICBMs with MIRVs, _____ installing an anti-ballistic-missile system to protect the whole US population, _____ exploding a nuclear device in the atmosphere for a peaceful purpose (like building a canal) where no radioactive debris escapes from your territory *3. Which one of the following three expressions about nuclear war would Carol Cohn most object to, given her arguments on the language used to discuss nuclear matters? Choose exactly one by marking T and F. (I?m asking about her objection to the language used, not to the idea itself.) __ ?firestorm? __ ?Mutually Assured Destruction? __ ?the need to hold the adversary?s assets at risk? 4. Why did Nazi Germany, under Hitler, not try to build a bomb? Give one reason in a phrase or sentence. 5. The first weapon involving fission was ______ as powerful as the first weapon involving fusion. Fill in the blank with one of the following: (Remember that if the fission is less powerful you?ll put a fraction. If its more powerful you?ll put a number.) 1/1000 OR 1/10 OR 10 times OR 1000 times 6. In a brief sentence, what is the typical purpose of making a threat that leaves something to chance (as opposed to simply threatening to harm the other party for sure)? 7. Mark each of these situations as more like ?Deterrence? or more like ?Defense?. _______Governor Schwarzenegger, not wanting an opponent?s bill to pass, says, in so many words, that he is hereby vetoing it. _______ A legislature passes a law allowing people to sue for libel if their good name is maliciously damaged. _______ The United States stations US troops in West Berlin, even knowing that they would have no hope of preventing a Soviet invasion. *8. In a sentence, explain what Bundy means when he says that it was the nuclear danger, rather than the nuclear balance that influenced the crisis over Berlin. 9. I said that the use of the bomb against Japan was a ?non-decision,? meaning that Truman did not hold any meeting where he and his advisors seriously discussed whether or not to use. In a brief sentence, what was one explanation for the lack of a decision? 10. According to Schelling, talking about the tradition of non-use ?We arm the Israeli and provide ammunition even in wartime, but so much as a company of American infantry would be perceived as a greater act of participation in the war than $5 billion worth of fuel, ammunition and spare parts.? He sees this fact as relevant to nuclear weapons because __ Because of the nuclear taboo, America is as reluctant to confer its nuclear weapons to foreign control as it would be to send its own soldiers. __ The symbolic aspect of nuclear weapons can be more important than their military value, just as the symbolism of the presence of troops would be powerful __ Nuclear weapons are important for extended deterrence in Europe, just as US troops would be for Israel (choose one as T, the rest F) 11. Give an example of a nuclear weapon that is tactical, not strategic? You can make one up if you want. 12. The type of nuclear weapons used on Japan involved: (Mark one T and the others F.) __ the fission of heavy elements __ the fusion of light elements __ one weapon used fission and the other fusion. 13. Even before nuclear weapons were invented, armies, tanks, guns, etc., functioned to deter an invasion of one?s territories. Why did ensuring deterrence become so much more important when nuclear weapons were invented? Answer in a brief sentence. 14. The Trollope Ploy, as the term is usually applied to the Cuban Missile Crisis, means doing this: __ if the other party seems ready to accept your offer, insist on somewhat more. __ if the other party makes an offer, then makes another offer that insists on somewhat more, simply ignore the second offer. __ open up several communications channels to the other party, and choose the best offer that comes in. __ take a strong stance at the start of the conflict, then gradually become more flexible. 15. At the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the crews on Soviet ships uncovered the missiles to let American planes observe that they were taking the weapons home. What was the original plan to verify that the missiles were being removed? 16. Which is more consistent with Mutual Assured Destruction? (Mark one T and one F.) __ Counterforce targeting __ Countervalue targeting *17. When strategists talk about ?coupling? what two events are being coupled, that is, are being connected? ___________________ and ________________ 18. The ABM Treaty did not ban all anti-ballistic missile systems. What ones did it allow? *19. A FROD is __ the type of Soviet missile introduced in Cuba __ a type of radar used to guide anti-ballistic missile weapons __ a feature of a weapon that allows it to be identified by a overhead satellite *20. According to international law, what is a major way to decide how to interpret the words of a treaty? 1. In a sentence, state the benefit of stationing nuclear-armed missiles in submarines at sea rather than in silos on land? 2. In a brief phrase what is nuclear ?fallout?? 3. ___ True or false: There are currently more nuclear weapons in the world than ever before? *4. The fact that we have seen no nuclear weapons used in war since Hiroshima may be due to deterrence or to a taboo (or both.) Give a reason to think that the taboo is important, that it was not just deterrence. 5. In a brief sentence, what is the typical purpose of making a threat that leaves something to chance (as opposed to simply threatening to harm the other party for sure)? 6. Which is more complicated, a fission weapon or a fusion weapon? ____________ *7. Why did Sagan and Suri call it the ?Madman? Alert? (Choose exactly one.) ___ it was extremely poorly planned in their view, ___ the president wanted to project to the Soviet Union that he was irrational about using nuclear weapons, ___ the president wanted to signal to the Soviet Union that it would be irrational for anyone to use nuclear weapons, ___ the president wanted to signal to the American public that it would be irrational for anyone to use nuclear weapons, ___ several events in the crisis paralleled the plot of the 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove. (Mark each T or F) *8. Bundy states that as well as the nuclear danger, there was a ?second deterrent? to Khrushchev that dissuaded him from taking action against West Berlin. In a phrase, what was this ?second deterrent? that worried him? 9. What is a MIRV? Either give what the phrase means, or explain it briefly in words. 10. In class I showed a clip from the movie Rebel without a Cause in which two teenagers race their cars towards the edge of a cliff and whoever jumps out first is the chicken. State an important way in which this kind of game is different from a nuclear confrontation such as the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Berlin Crisis. 11. In sentence, what was a rationale for signing the 1972 Anti-Ballistic-Missile Treaty, in which countries agreed to refrain from defending almost all their cities against ballistic missiles? 12.. If many treaties are no international policemen with power to enforce an arms control agreement, how can we expect that nations will follow it? Give one reason. *14. Compared to regular deterrence, the main problem of extended deterrence is __ credibility of one?s threat to retaliate. __ vulnerability of one?s weapons to a first strike. __ increased arms race instability. __ increased probability of unauthorized use or accidental war. (Mark one T and the others F) *15. Many people have argued that the Cuban Missile Crisis illustrates the importance of standing up to the Soviets, but I say it also illustrates the importance of flexibility and negotiation. What important fact has come to light recently that supports my viewpoint? Give it in a brief sentence 16. Khrushchev?s action of installing missiles in Cuba triggered the Missile Crisis. What?s an example of an action that the United States took that could be seen as provoking Khrushchev to do this? Answer in a brief phrase. *17. Which of the following is an example of mirror-imaging? __ the Trollope Ploy __ Kennedy?s insistence that the dismantling of the Jupiter missiles in Turkey not be made an explicit part of the deal. __ Kennedy?s ability to learn from the mistakes he made in the Bay of Pigs Crisis. __ Khrushchev?s failure to appreciate that Kennedy would react so strongly against Soviet missiles in Cuba *18. One danger of a crisis is that accidents can occur and lead to a war that neither side wants. The game that best illustrates this is __ my ace-of-hearts (BRINKMANSHIP) game __ the Prisoner?s Dilemma __ my game of auctioning off a dollar bill to the higher bidder. 19. What did the Rush-Bagot Treaty ban, very roughly? 20. What was George W. Bush?s stated reason for withdrawing from the ABM Treaty?

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